The Canterbury Bulldogs ran out the winners over the St George Illawara Dragons by 18 points on Monday night, but will be worried about an ankle injury to Moses Mbye.
Final score
St George-Illawarra Dragons 16
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 34
State of Origin Game 2 teams
» QLD: Myles out, Lillyman in
» Roar’s Reaction: Maroons
» NSW: Graham in, but faces ban
» Roar’s Reaction: Blues
The St George Illawarra Dragons are looking to sneak back into the top eight, while the Canterbury Bulldogs will be snarling after a shock, last-minute loss when the two teams battle it out at ANZ Stadium. Join us on The Roar from 4pm (AEST) for all the action.
2016 has been an up-and-down year for the Dragons, and after 13 rounds they find themselves ninth, with points differential the only thing keeping them out of eighth spot.
The Red V were dealt a blow when Josh Dugan injured his elbow, putting him on the sidelines for a couple more weeks at least. Besides this, they are largely unaffected by State of Origin.
When the Bulldogs are at their best they can beat any team in the NRL, but they really struggle with consistency. Sitting in seventh spot on the ladder with seven wins to their name, the Dogs are just three wins off the top-of-the-table Sharks and Storm, and need to build form through the Origin period.
With Will Hopoate and Josh Reynolds both in good form, if Moses Mbeye can clean up his kicking game then expect Canterbury to fire.
In team news, Siliva Havili replaces Josh McCrone on the bench for the Dragons, while the Bulldogs go in unchanged.
Selecting a team on recent form is difficult, as both teams have won two and lost three out of their last five games. Last time they faced off, the Bulldogs knocked the Dragons out of the 2015 finals, a Josh Reynolds field goal sealing the 11-10 win.
Prediction
Des Hasler will have the Bulldogs breathing fire this week so I expect them to stamp their credentials with a big showing here against the Dragons.
Bulldogs by 12 points.
Will the Bulldogs prove a point after heart break last week or will the Dragons cause an upset to keep their top eight chances alive? To find out make sure you join us here on The Roar from 4pm (AEST) for live scores and coverage of the game.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
There's nothing in the rulebook about unfair advantage, and as it turns out there IS something in the rulebook about deliberately knocking the ball forward. Maybe there should be some rule about accidentally knocking a ball over a defender, but given the rules would say Williams remained in possession he could've been tackled with the ball floating past the Dragons defender fairly.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Whats the difference between that and Valentine Holmes intercept? Holmes actually knocked the ball forward, as most people do when making an intercept before regathering whilst it was in the air?
Joel Rigby
Guest
I would hate that try be awarded for or against my team, it is not in the spirit of the game, unfair advantage. If a player fumbles and regathers, no advantage made, his fumble probably puts him on the back foot, sometimes fumbles back can lead to trys because defence rushing up breaks the defensive line, team regathers and goes and scores. Initially though there was no advantage from the fumble. In this case it was a fumble forward, we have seen fumble and regathers a lot in the game, and initially there is no advantage and the player who fumbled gets tackled quick. Some rarely manage to regather and make a play, but in this case there was a massive advantage, and it was an "unfair advantage".
Joel Rigby
Guest
dosn't matter if deliberate or not, you can not seriously judge on that case, it creates an unfair advantage, go back and play the ball, simple, are you guys really trying tell the rugby league community that that was a fair play in the spirit of the game. and what the bloody hell is Pattern still doing in the bunker ... has the NRL got rocks in its head???????
Joel Rigby
Guest
no try, simple, also dragons could have tackled him without the ball because really the ball is still in his possession, but the dragons didn't tackle him because of course they thought it would have been adjudicated no fair play. We have seen this before disallowed over the year, it is not the first time, we have seen slight bump forwards let go. But in this case it was an "unfair advantage" and should not have been awarded a try.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Williams passed backwards one handed, the pass then took a deflection off his other hand and he regathered it - ref on field ruled it accidentally knocked forward thus why he asked the bunker to check for contact between the ball and the Dragons player. Harrigan is just a rent a quote at this point.
Lachlan
Guest
How do you accidentally pass a ball? Unintentional or not, this play was outlawed decades ago. Bill Harrigan has labelled it a horrendous decision and quite frankly, Bill was a better ref than Archer or any of his cronies.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Not sure that was an accident... Regardless it sets a worrying precedent in the bunker trying to decide whether it was intentional or an accident.
Benny
Guest
Exactly, one of the replays showed very clearly that he was passing it, got knocked into his left hand and when he tried to regather it he accidentally hit it up. It was in no way intentional. You can see by his facial reaction that it wasn't intentional.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Don't know what the fuss was all about, really. Consider it a fumble and regather before the ball touches the ground. I think some are making a molehill in order to pass it off as a mountain.
Jason Hosken
Roar Guru
Spot on, knock forward was not deliberate, play on. Correct decision.
Widget
Roar Guru
*Joel Thompson
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Ball was in Williams right hand, it goes back into his left and balloons up, and he regathers before it touches anyone else. Letter of the law I'm fairly sure that's not a knock on or forward pass, what it definitely is though is awful luck for the Dragons.
Widget
Roar Guru
Click here for the full match report from this game What's next? Follow our Sharks vs Cowboys live blog Final score St George-Illawarra Dragons 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 34 Votes 3 Curtis Rona (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs) 2 Josh Reynolds (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs) 1 Tyson Frizell (St.George-Illawarra Dragons)
Planko
Guest
Joke game.. Once again bunker gets my MOM
Planko
Guest
Joke game.. Onc again bunker gets my MOM
Vivalasvegan
Guest
Astonishing. Anyone for American Football...! One on one with fullback to beat? Chuck it over his head and catch it downfield...
Widget
Roar Guru
FULL TIME DRAGONS 16 def. by BULLDOGS 34 Well that was a game full of action from start to finish. The Bulldogs take away a big win after a tough contest against the Dragons. Some controversy with the Hopoate try after the Williams incident will cause plenty of discussion this week. What are your thoughts on the game? Who would you give the votes to? Thanks for joining me for the coverage of this game. Stay tuned for my match summary and be sure to get involved in our live blog of the upcoming game between the Sharks and Cowboys at 7pm (AEST).
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, that'll do me. Luke Patten a no no in the bunker on Bulldogs games from here on out, and a very worrying precedent set moving forward.
Widget
Roar Guru
Full Time The Dragons throw it around but an error gives ball back to the Bulldogs and that ends the game. Dragons 16 Bulldogs 34